The event takes place Dec. 30 at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo and is expected to air on HDNet in the U.S.

“Soul of Fight” is an all-day sports festival that features MMA fights, kickboxing bouts, grappling matchups and other competitions. The slate of MMA fights, which also includes WVR’s welterweight grand prix finale and Asian bantamweight GP semifinals, is the main attraction.

Herman, an Indiana native who never has gone to a decision in 21 career fights, most recently competed at Bellator 31, where he submitted Michal Kita with a rare omoplata submission. Prior to the victory, which was his 18th first-round stoppage in 19 career wins, he suffered a disqualification loss (illegal knees) to UFC vet Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at an event in Abu Dhabi.

Herman now returns to WVR, where he suffered his first career loss in a January 2009 TKO defeat to Choi Mu Bae.

Nakao is perhaps best known to American fans for a 2005 run-in with Heath Herring at “K-1 Premium 2005 Dynamite!!” During referee instructions, Nakao kissed Herring in apparent attempt to get under his skin. It didn’t go over well, and Herring tagged him with a right hook to the chin that knocked out Nakao and resulted in a no-contest for the bout.

Nakao, though, quietly has put together a nice run in recent years. He’s won four out of his past five fights with WVR wins over Jim York, Choi Mu Bae and Henry Miller. The lone defeat came to notable Antonio Silva in a bout in which Nakao suffered a knee injury.

WVR officials also added some stand-up fights to the Dec. 30 card that feature notables from the region’s top kickboxing promotions.

The Latest

Sure, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey ran through yet another opponent in less than a minute, but that wasn’t the only story that mattered at UFC 190. Relive the memorable moments from Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena.

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms.

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?